This photo published March 17, 1972, shows crews removing a diseased pine tree on Pine Crest. The removal required a crane, high-wire act, several men and plenty of strong backs. File photo

60 years ago – 1952
Dr. M.M. Null announced that he had hundreds of small sequoias to be given to residents and property owners free of charge. The little redwoods were grown for planting in the community.

55 years ago – 1957
Clarence Bischof purchased the San Jacinto Lumber Yard.

50 years ago – 1962
Paramount Picture’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring Audrey Hepburn, was showing at the Rustic Theatre.

45 years ago – 1967
A weekend storm brought 4 inches of snow — the first moisture in more than a month.

• • •

Pine Cove’s fire company was proud of its newly acquired Seagrave pumper. Capacity: 180 gallons per minute.

40 years ago – 1972
In a meeting of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s board of commissioners, a citizens’ group concerned with rising costs and high taxes raised the question of transferring local fire protection to the county.

45 years ago – 1967
The Welch’s Carriage Inn was holding a St. Patrick’s Day Dance. All Irishmen were invited.

35 years ago – 1977
Ward Johnson made the trip from Idyllwild-to-San-Jacinto-and-back to Idyllwild, all on a bicycle!

30 years ago – 1982
Volunteers from the California Conservation Corps and the Idyllwild Izaak Walton League planted about 750 oak seedlings in the Mountain Center burn area. Under the direction of Tom Roberts of the U.S. Forest Service, the volunteers planted several groves of canyon and black oaks.

20 years ago – 1987
Idyllwild resident Glen “Mac” McWilliams, a 25-year veteran with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, was promoted to a new position in the Youth Evaluation Service.

10 years ago – 2002
Construction at Idyllwild School came to a stand-still after the Hemet Unified School District Governing Board of Trustees fired the project’s general contractor, Old Hickory Construction, accusing the firm of inadequate progress and failing to pay its subcontractors.

1 year ago – 2011
The IFPD finances continued to deteriorate. At the March 8 meeting, Commissioner and Treasurer Ben Killingsworth announced that revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30 would be about $115,000 less than expected.

Similar Posts

  • |

    Past Tense: December 24, 2020

    70 years ago – 1950Two men, Mike Dunn and Bill Bratton, set a record for the hike from Idyllwild to Palm Springs, reaching the Richfield Station in 10-and-a-half hours. 65 years ago – 1955Ted Belden, a local furniture manufacturer, led property owners in the mountain resort communities to decide that zoning was not desired. A…

  • Past Tense: Oct. 6, 2011

    60 years ago – 1951 With only a couple of deer season weeks left, just 94 bucks had been shot locally, compared to 193 in the previous year and 365 bagged 20 years earlier. 55 years ago – 1956 The Riverside County Board of Supervisors denied two liquor license applications from Idyllwild businessmen who sought…

  • Past Tense: May 21, 2015

    65 years ago – 1950 The Town Crier, which first saw the light of day in the Maxwells’ attic, moved into the rock building at Fern Valley Corners.   60 years ago – 1955 Dispensing mountain hospitality with all modern conveniences was the new Singingwood Motel, which opened the prior week, on the Banning highway…

  • |

    Past Tense: October 8, 2020

    70 years ago – 1950The Fern Valley Lodge was selling “fine diners” for only $1 per meal. 65 years ago – 1955Hemet Unified School District (HUSD) provided a bus to take Idyllwild students to football games in Hemet. 60 years ago – 1960Although the Forest Service had not declared the Keen Camp guard station as…

  • |

    Past Tense: May 9, 2019

    70 years ago – 1949 Dr. Harry Pearlman, Louis Pearlman, Louis Artin and Sam Melca started up Devil’s Slide Trail hoping to hike down the desert side. But after nine hours of floundering in snow up to their armpits, they reappeared in Fern Valley. 65 years ago – 1954 A San Bernardino radio show host…

  • Past tense: June 12, 2014

    65 years ago – 1949 The newly formed lake on the Banning-Idyllwild Highway was officially named Lake Fulmor in honor of A.C. Fulmor, county planning commissioner and surveyor whose mission and ingenuity played a prominent part in the realization of the highway.   60 years ago – 1954 Desert Sun School held commencement exercises for…